Molotov Jass Cheat Sheet
Setup
With a 36 card deck (6-A), shuffle and divide the deck equally between each player, dealing out in groups of three cards.
- With three players 4x3 each, with four players 3x3, with five players, remove the 6 of bells/diamonds and then deal 4+3 each, with six players 3x2 cards each.
Trump
At the beginning of the game, there is no trump. The first card that cannot follow suit becomes the trump suit.
- The jack/unter and nine of trumps become Bur and Nell retroactively. Be wary of nines and jacks early on.
Following Suit
If you have the suit that has been played, you must 1) follow suit or 2) play a trump. You have the option to play a trump even if you could follow suit.
- If you don't have the suit played, you can play any other card. You don't have to play a trump. The Bur doesn't have to follow suit.
Scoring
Think backwards: in molotov, you aim for the fewest points possible.
Trick Points
| Cards by Trick Rank |
Point Value |
| Trump Jack/Unter ("Bur") |
20 |
| Trump Nine ("Nell") |
14 |
| Ace |
11 |
| King |
4 |
| Queen/Ober |
3 |
| Jack/Unter |
2 |
| Ten |
10 |
| Nine |
0 |
| Eight |
0 |
| Seven |
0 |
| Six |
0 |
| -Making the last trick- |
5 |
| SUM |
157 |
Molotovs
- Winner of the trick gets molotov'd.
| Molotov |
Points |
Description |
Example |
| Small |
20 |
Three-in-a-row suited |
7-8-9 suited |
| Large |
50 |
Four-in-a-row suited |
9-10-J/U-Q/O suited |
Overall Points
- 3P: Lowest two write tallies, worst writes a "sack".
- 4P: Lowest two write tallies, worst writes a sack, second worst writes nothing.
- 5P: Lowest three write tallies, worst writes a sack, second worst writes nothing.
- 6P: Lowest three write tallies, worst two write a sack, middle player writes nothing.
- To get "out of the sack", write another tally (sacks are like minus points):
- First to five wins. If players hit five simultaneously, the lowest score in that round wins overall.